Employing Lean and Six Sigma techniques, WillowTree offers a way to rapidly assess any back office operation (e.g. IT, HR, F&A, procurement, customer service and sales) and identify improvements that will make the organization more effective and efficient.

“If your organization is feeling sluggish, needs to get rid of redundant processes or has disengaged employees, it’s time to make a change,” said Kathryn Douglass, WillowTree Advisor managing partner. “All businesses need to take a look at their operations on a regular basis to determine if improvements need to be made, technologies need to be updated and organizations and delivery models reviewed and adjusted.”

The WillowTree Advisors team addresses business needs, eliminates waste and creates swift business value and change. They help organizations lead a successful transformation by linking refreshed activities to the business strategy, transforming approaches for customized environment, and developing an overall approach to managing change in the workplace.

“The application of Lean techniques to business processes can save time, reduce waste and eliminate costs – while improving customer and employee satisfaction,” said Douglass.

About WillowTree Advisors

WillowTree Advisors (WTA) is a woman owned, small business enterprise that focuses on helping public and private enterprises improve their services, reduce costs and transform their organizations. Founded in 2009, WTA’s value proposition rests on the delivery of big firm results on a cost effective and flexible platform.

WTA has been recognized as a provider of consulting services to the Federal Government, and is currently approved on the GSA MOBIS Schedule. The firm is also a certified woman-owned small business, approved by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) since 2010. WTA is a member of WBEC-West, Colorado Technology Association, the Association for Corporate Growth and MPEx.

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Are We There Yet?
The Elusive Implementation Destination
How many times have you reached the end of an IT implementation and moved on to the next project, only to get called back again and again (and again) to solve one-off problems with the new system? It’s a frustrating yet all too common way to complete a project, and it leaves behind bad feelings that lead to resistance on future projects. The good news is that it doesn’t have to end this way.
Buckle Up for the Ride Together
The goal is to... Read more

Starting the Lean Journey.
When I speak with people about Lean programs, I am often asked, “Where should we start?” While this sounds like a very simple question, it actually requires a lot of thought. However, the simple answer is that you must first decide where you want to go before you know where you should start. Think of it like this: If you don’t know where you want to go, it really doesn’t matter if you have a map.
I have a GPS for my car that is pretty high tech.... Read more

The Affordable Care Act has created angst among health care workers and administrators, not because big changes are coming, but because the impacts of those changes and their accompanying rules are not yet clear. For administrators, this level of uncertainty makes planning seem nearly impossible. Yet, healthcare organizations such as Mayo Clinic and Thedacare are currently developing robust plans for tomorrow, streamlining existing workflows, and delivering better outcomes in care—all while cutting costs, increasing cash flow, and growing the bottom line. How? Lean Six Sigma.
A Transformational Approach
Lean Six Sigma improves... Read more

Building a Lean Culture.
What is the real objective of Lean Six Sigma? When I ask this question, I usually get responses such as increased quality, improved speed, reduced cost, reduced errors and many other tactical improvement measures. Those are all benefits to continuous improvement (CI). The real goal of CI is to build a culture or improve a culture. As Dr. Womack wrote in Lean Thinking, the fifth principle of lean is culture.
So what does it mean to build a culture or to enhance the culture? How does a world-class culture... Read more

Building Brick Walls - Lean Resistance
All successful and sustainable implementations of Lean start with an organization’s top management. Trying to implement Lean from the middle-out or the bottom-up may result in some improvements, but it will not result in your organization becoming a world-class company that is globally competitive.
In the book Leading Change by John Kotter, the author notes the change implementation prerequisites (for a lean implementation) that management must accomplish as:
n Creating a sense of change urgency
n Developing a guiding coalition/alliance to steer the organization through the change
n Developing a vision/picture of the company’s future... Read more

The September 30, 2011 edition of Manufacturing and Technology News magazine presented an article entitled, Lean and Six Sigma Are Not Leading To Breakthroughs In Corporate Performance. This article (the result of a survey of 100 business executives conducted by Alix Partners, a business consulting firm) highlighted some problems with Lean and Six Sigma implementations, including:
n 70% of respondents reported a less than 5% improvement in manufacturing costs as a result of Lean.
n 60% of respondents said their previous Lean improvements were not sustainable.
n Only 17% of respondents reported seeking long-term culture... Read more

In the book, Leading Change, noted organizational change expert John Kotter notes that there are five prerequisites required to achieve any type of organizational change:
n Establishing a Sense of Urgency - Individuals or organizations do not change without a sense of urgency to do so.
n Creating the Guiding Coalition - Put together a group with enough power to lead and guide the organization through the change. This group should represent a cross-section of the organization.
n Developing a Vision and Strategy
n A vision is a broad description or picture of the future state of... Read more

WillowTree Advisors Announces New Services for Outsourcing Service Providers
DENVER (November 28, 2012) – WillowTree Advisors (WTA), a woman-owned business transformation consulting firm, has announced a new service offering specifically designed for Outsourcing Service Providers.
This service offering, 360 Sales Revitalization TM focuses on helping business development and sales organizations to enhance sales effectiveness and strategic focus. Through its proven methodology, WillowTree decomposes the sales cycle and associated processes to reveal opportunities for improvement. WTA collaborates with the sales team to assess and improve the key sales areas of Pipeline Management,... Read more